Shots Fired at EU NAVFOR Vessel

On the early morning of November 1st 2009 shots were fired at an EU NAVFOR warship HNOMS Fridjof Nansen, 12 nautical miles east of Caluula, a North Eastern Somali coastal village. The area is known by the naval forces for possible illegal activity including piracy.

A group of four anchored dhows was approached by the boarding party of the Fridjof Nansen to talk with the persons on board. The crew of the first three dhows were cooperative. On approaching the fourth dhow, shots were fired suddenly from this vessel. The EU NAVFOR boarding team returned fire in self defense and withdrew to a safe distance to avoid escalation. All EU NAVFOR personnel were unharmed.

The main tasks of EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation Atalanta are to escort merchant vessels carrying food of the World Food Program (WFP), the protection of vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy.